A patch of art

One positive aspect of the hot and humid summer in the Whitsundays is that people make good use of being holed up in the air conditioning. There is plenty of creativity going on (myself included!) when it's too hot to do anything else.

The biennial Gloucester Hidden Talent Art Expo held over the Easter weekend in Hydeaway Bay, displays fine local talent that includes painting, photography, jewellery, fibre art and quilting.

The Old Ambulance Depot Gallery in Proserpine, open daily, displays an array of local artworks, and regularly hosts workshops to improve your skills.

Entrance to Old Ambulance Depot Gallery

 

 

The spacious foyer of the Proserpine Museum is also home to regular art exhibitions, rotating every two months and often opening the new display with a wine and cheese evening.
 

Local scenes depicted by needlework
L-R Prominent buildings of Proserpine, Farming, Sugar cane production, Fishing on Peter Faust Dam, Whitsunday islands and reef

Art Whitsunday is an artist group formed in Airlie Beach, whose members exhibit in the Art Whitsunday Gallery and Shop. Each year a public exhibition is held and a prominent arts personality is invited to judge each member's work. The Director of the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art will be judging the 28th Annual Exhibition, which will coincide with the Whitsunday Reef Festival from July 31- 9 August 2015.

 

The Wizard and Flak

It was a week of entertainment in the Whitsundays last week.

Wednesday evening was spent watching the sunset at Abell Point marina from Barcelona Tapas Bar and Cafe, followed by some deft piano playing by Andrew Farrell, a.k.a. The Wizard.

With a wide variety of tunes and music styles, The Wizard delights and amazes with such an enormous repertoire. From Billy Joel to Rachmaninov; jazz, R&B and Boogie, it's a musical smorgasbord: just like the menu.

Choose from an extensive list of tapas: I recommend the goat's cheese, and the calamari is by far the best I have ever eaten. The table service was fantastic; sometimes hard to find in Airlie Beach, but Barcelona really has it together.
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Friday night was spent at the theatre: Michael Veitch's 'Flak' was performed at the Proserpine Entertainment Centre.

Perhaps best known for his sketch comedy television shows, The D-Generation, Fast Forward and Full Frontal, which included a number of characters and impersonations, there is also a serious side to Veitch.

He travelled throughout Australia collecting yarns and anecdotes from aging World War Two airmen, and compiled their war stories into two books; Flak and Fly. Five of these airmen's stories are told, as they were to Veitch, in this remarkable stage performance. Complete with accent, the extraordinary tales of two Australians, a Welshman, an English man and a German are brought to life, interspersed with brief commentaries of the various aircraft that flew (or not quite flew) the skies of the time.

Veitch's performance will ensure that the wish of one of the veterans will live on: which is, "to be remembered".

You can hear one of the stories by clicking here.

A dirty afternoon

On a mid week day off my husband asked if I was keen for a fun and dirty afternoon. Not wanting to miss out on anything, I was more than ready to go along with his suggestion.

"Wear old clothes and sturdy footwear", he said. "And bring a change of clothes: you'll need them".

Now I am intrigued.

After a 45 minute scenic drive from Airlie Beach, through Proserpine and cane fields, we arrive at the gate of Whitsunday Adventure Park for a few hours of 4WD buggy action.

Helmets and goggles are allocated before the required short briefing. We then headed off into the bush, following the tour leader and tackling a few small obstacles prior to the more challenging terrain. With my husband driving, he made the most of the sweeping corners and short straights. Although the vehicles are speed restricted to a maximum speed of 30 km per hour, it is still a hoot zooming around the bends. We toured through the grass lands and negotiated ditches and gullies before arriving at the skills area; a man-made circuit of tyres, bridges, moguls and mounds. It's challenging when it's dry, but even more so when wet: we had a heavy downpour just before setting out.

The buggies are easy to operate, and can really go over anything: just make sure you keep the power on. It was my turn behind the wheel, which was more like a Sunday drive than an adrenalin rush. But that's the beauty of this tour: anyone can drive the buggies (as long as you have any type of licence), and you can go as fast or slow as you wish. Just make sure you stay on the tracks and look out for others. Don't worry if you get stuck, the tour leader will snatch strap you out: that's all part of the fun anyway.

We continued through dense rainforest, along a creek bed and up a steep hill to The Lookout for a commanding view of the Conway Range and the Proserpine & Goorganga Plain with the steam towers of the Proserpine sugar mill rising up in the distance.

Many spiderwebs, countless butterflies and the odd snake were viewed from the comfort of the buggy as we bounced along the track through open woodland towards home base. Now it was time to get dirty in the mud pit.

The last half hour of the tour is spent spinning around the muddy berms and crashing through the enormous mud puddles on a near one kilometre mud circuit. Make sure you keep your mouth closed, and you'll have to stop now and again for a visor wipe courtesy of the tour leader. As your confidence grows you'll be doing the full circuit with your foot flat to the floor. It feels like you are flying around - until you drive through a mud puddle and are covered with a tsunami of milk chocolate. It's so much fun!!

Time for an outdoor shower and a change of clothes before heading back in to Airlie Beach with a huge smile. That was indeed a fun and dirty afternoon.